Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the governing All Progressives Congress, has notified the electoral body INEC that he did not participate in primary and secondary educational institutions, as noted by People Gazette.
The previous governor of Lagos, however, affirmed that he has two degrees from American colleges, which he further asserted were taken by unnamed military personnel during the military governance of the 1990s.
The disclosures were made in an affidavit submitted by Mr. Tinubu to the electoral agency as part of his qualification documentation for the 2023 presidential elections.
The documents revealed on Friday showed that Mr. Tinubu left the sections for his primary and secondary education blank. Nevertheless, he stated that he received a degree in business and administration in 1979, seemingly referencing his prior claims of attending Chicago State University.
“I was in self-imposed exile from October 1994 to October 1998. Upon my return, I discovered that all my belongings, including papers related to my qualifications and certificates mentioned in paragraph three above, had been stolen by unknown actors.
“My residence underwent multiple searches by various security agencies from the time the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was forced to adjourn following the military’s takeover on November 17, 1993.
“I served as the chairman of the Senate committee on appropriation, banking, and finance. I was also a litigant in one of the two lawsuits against the interim national government in 1993.
“I sought exile when I realized that my life was endangered,” Mr. Tinubu stated in his submission to INEC.
The electoral law mandates candidates to present their personal credentials, which will be accessible for public scrutiny prior to elections.
Mr. Tinubu’s latest assertions appear to contradict his past election submissions, notably in 1999 and 2003 when he sought office as a gubernatorial candidate in Lagos. He claimed on both occasions that he had completed primary and secondary schooling.
He mentioned attending St. Paul Children’s Home School, Ibadan, from 1958 to 1964, while his secondary education occurred at Government College, Ibadan, from 1965 to 1968.
After Ibadan, Mr. Tinubu stated he relocated to Richard Daley College, Chicago, from 1969 to 1971.
He also stated that he attended both Chicago State University and the University of Chicago.
Chicago State University confirmed Mr. Tinubu as an enrolled student, granting him a degree in business and administration on June 22, 1979.
All the assertions, however, were disputed as fraudulent by a prominent Nigerian lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi.
Mr. Fawehinmi, who lived from 1938 to 2009, pursued the matter up to the Supreme Court, which dismissed the case on procedural grounds rather than its merits.
Ikenga Ugochinyere, a political activist in Abuja, declared he would challenge Mr. Tinubu’s submissions in court, accusing him of committing perjury.
“Mr. Tinubu engages in perjury as he discards his previous assertion of attending primary school, sworn in an affidavit to run for governor, yet now claims he did not attend primary school,” Mr. Ugochinyere remarked in a statement. His “new submissions contradict his 2007 affidavit indicating he has attended both primary and secondary schools.”
A spokesperson for Mr. Tinubu did not respond to a request for comments regarding the alleged discrepancies in his submissions to the electoral commission.
